


The Selkie Song

by JetpacksAndRollerblades



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/F, Femslash, I made dean and cas women because I love women not sorry, Internalized Homophobia, John Winchester's A+ Parenting, Queer Themes, Rating May Change, SO, Selkies, Very very au but magic still exists, i guess, just in a very different capacity than in canon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-04
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-07-24 21:37:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16183667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JetpacksAndRollerblades/pseuds/JetpacksAndRollerblades
Summary: Diane moves to Maine to find a new life and escape the drunken wrath of her father. On top of that, she finds herself on a journey of magic, discovery and love.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here comes a Big Disclaimer:  
> I have not watched Supernatural in many many years. I began writing this while watching season 3? or 5?, I think, although, of course, it was a while ago. I also don't really intend to go back and watch it again to make sure people like Crowley or Lilith are in character, so not only might the characters be out of character based on the fact that they probably have grown or changed in canon since then, but also because my memory is probably not super accurate. So. Take this with a large hunk of salt or whatever. 
> 
> I'm mostly publishing this so that I can make myself motivated to keep writing it, so if it's like. Actually really bad? Please let me know so I can reevaluate all of this BS. Thanks.

Diane left in the middle of the night, wary and determined. John went out drinking that night, and while he was gone, she packed up all the things she thought would be worth selling, as well as the $300 she had hidden under the floorboards and a spare change of clothes and two books: a paperback copy of  _ 10,000 Leagues Under the Sea _ and a well worn hardback about marine life, never returned to the town library. She filled the rest of the space in her ratty old backpack with a water bottle and whatever food she could find in the kitchen. It wasn't much, but she was making an escape, not going on a luxury all-expenses-paid vacation.

When John returned that night, she was waiting for him. He was spectacularly drunk, just as Diane had expected, but that night he was too drunk to yell, and barely able to stand.  _ Lucky me, _ thought Diane. He managed to take one confused look at her before collapsing onto the floor next to the couch.

Diane looked upon his crumpled form with nothing but disgust. If she'd had any last-minute second thoughts about whether leaving was a good idea or not, this certainly seemed to clear up her hesitations.

Soon, John began to snore. Diane seemed to take that as her cue. She went back to grab her backpack from just inside her bedroom door, slung it over her shoulder, took a deep breath, and walked back into the living room. “Well, this is it,” she said. She spoke these words with a quiet tone, but not one that could ever be misconstrued to be called anything close to kind. “Somehow I feel like you'll get on just fine without me,  _ Dad _ .” She spits out the last word as if it were a curse, which, to her, it probably was. A word that's true meaning became perverse and bastardized over years and years of living under the tyrannical control of her father.

John didn't stir from his alcohol-induced sleep. Diane didn't expect that he would, but part of her felt like it shouldn't be this easy to just  _ leave _ . Diane was grateful, but the whole thing left her with a hard ball of worries and nerves forming in her stomach.

Mentally, she forces those thoughts down. Everything was going to be fine. She was finally going to get away; away from Kansas and away from John, and finally,  _ finally _ get to see the ocean for the first time. This was her dream since childhood, and now, well into the “young adult” portion of her life, there was nothing stopping her anymore.

Setting her jaw, she moved quickly across the front lawn to get her bike out of the shed by the driveway. When she first formed this plan, she had considered asking Bobby for a ride to the bus station. Bobby was a good boss and a good man, and knew more about her and her brother, Sammy's, situation than anyone else in the world did. She was sure that he'd be more than understanding. In the end, though, she'd deemed it much wiser to slip away without telling a single person. It weighed a little heavier on her conscience than she'd admit to herself.

The bike ride into town was long, dark, and lonely. No cars passed by her as she pedaled down the dirt road that led to the Greyhound station just outside of the center of the town. She was going as fast as she physically could, not only so she could get as far away from the old farm house as quickly as possible, but also because there was only one more bus leaving that night, and she knew that if she missed it, her whole plan would get screwed.

Being late wasn't something that she had to worry about, though, which she realized upon entering the station. The bus didn't leave until 3:00. She had forty-five minutes to spare. She bought a ticket to New York and checked her bike as luggage, which together added up to $168.33, which left her with $131.67 left.  _ Jeez,  _ she thought to herself,  _ Not even out of Lawrence yet and I'm already down half my money. _

Out loud, she only muttered a quiet “Thank you,” to the dead tired looking woman behind the counter before shuffling off to take a seat and wait for the bus to arrive. She sat on a bench and rummaged through her backpack for something to do. All of a sudden, she felt very tired. She scrubbed a hand over her face, rubbing at her tired eyes.

The station was mostly empty, which was to be expected. Who else would be desperate enough to be waiting for a Greyhound at 2 something in the morning? She got out her old mp3 player, and put on some music. ACDC, something familiar, to desperately cling to something “normal” about this whole situation.

Diane hadn't realized she'd nodded off until she was being shaken awake by the employee she'd bought the ticket from before. “Hey, honey, you're gonna miss your bus.”

“Oh, shit, thank you,” Diane said, as she gathered her things together and stood up. The woman only nodded and walked back to her place behind the counter.

Diane ran outside and got onto the bus, half expecting John to come out of nowhere with his buddies to grab her and drag her back home again, but nothing of the sort happened. The bus was mostly empty, with only a few other sleeping passengers scattered here and there. Diane took her seat, holding her backpack tightly.  _ This is it _ , she thought. I'm almost there.

She wanted, more than anything, to text Sam, her little brother, to tell him that everything was working fine and she'd be in New York soon, but managed to restrain herself on the basis that she really couldn't stand to jinx it now. The text could wait until she was at least out of the state. Then at least she'd have a solid head start.

As exhilarating and nerve wracking as all of this was, Diane still didn't take long to nod off, her head leaning against the window of the bus, the vibrations creating a sort of droning lullaby.

She awoke to sunlight, and was momentarily incredibly confused about where she was. Soon enough, she remembered, and the thought caused another spike of fear and excitement to course through her chest. She ate a bit of the food she'd packed for herself, and contented herself to staring out the window to watch the landscape change.

They stopped off at another city, and more people got on the bus. Some tried to make polite conversation with one another, and some with Diane, but after a little while, the bus faded back down into relative silence, with people reading or listening to their iPods or mp3 players rather than trying to make new friends or acquaintances.

The ride was dull, if Diane was honest with herself, but she was far more than okay with that except for the fact that it left her relatively alone with her thoughts. She felt a bit guilty about leaving Lawrence without telling Bobby, her boss at the auto body shop where she worked, unbeknownst to her father, and probably her only friend, about what she was doing or where she was going.. For all he would know, maybe John had finally just gone and killed her after all. She didn't want him to be worried about her, but it was just too dangerous for anyone (except for Sammy, of course) to know what she was doing or where she was going.  _ It's just safer this way. It has to be this way,  _ She told herself, over and over, but she couldn't ever really manage convince herself of that, and was left with a vague feeling of guilt sitting in the back of her head.

She thought about texting Sam again, but she was too afraid. What if someone else reads the message somehow? Could people find your location by where you send texts from? Then she started worrying frantically about whether John could track her by her phone. It had to be called a “tracfone” for a reason, right?  _ Shit shit shit why didn't I think of this before? _

Diane realized she was working herself into a sort of panic, and did her best to calm herself down and make a plan. At the next stop she got off the bus and found a group of people who were “heading south to visit family”. Quickly and quietly, when they weren't looking, she slipped her phone into one of their bags, and then walked back to her own bus.

It wasn't ideal, of course. If Sammy tried to reach her for anything and couldn't get ahold of her, he might assume the worst, but it would only be a temporary worry, because soon she'd be in New York with him. It wasn't great, but at least she could rest assured that if John somehow could track her using her phone, he'd be sent on a wild goose chase down south somewhere. Somewhere far away from where she was actually going to be.

(Depending on how long it takes to get from Lawrence to NY, either have her arrive that day or another sleep cycle, but either way, the next important point is when she gets to the city so. Pretend there was a time lapse)

Diane couldn't believe it. She'd made it. She was in New York. She paid the fare for the subway to take her as close to Columbia University as she could get, her excitement mounting.

Sam, being a freshman, was staying in one of the large freshman dorms. She took the slip of paper out of her pocket that had his building and room number on it, and found her way (only getting lost once or twice) to his dorm building. She needed a key to get in, but luckily, someone was just leaving as she got there, and she could slip in before the door shut again.

The looked at the paper again, and at a floor map that was hanging on the wall, and started on her way down the hallways and up the stairs to find the dorm. The door to the dorm was also locked of course. She took a deep breath and knocked. Nothing happened. She frowned, and paused before knocking again. Still nothing.

“He's probably in class, dumbass,” someone who was passing by scoffed. Diane turned red. Of course he was in class, how stupid was she that she couldn't even figure that out.  _ This is why Sam deserved to go away to school and you didn't, idiot, _ she thought to herself as she walked back out of the building again.

She wasn't going to be deterred by one locked door however. She needed a new plan.

Scaling the fire escape seemed like a great idea until she was standing five feet to the left of Sam's window, two stories off of the ground. She could just wait until Sam got back from class. That would be the sensible thing to do. Honestly, why did she assume this was the best way of going about things?

_ Oh well, _ she thought to herself, and strapped her backpack tightly to her back. The actual act of climbing over to the window and prying it open wasn't too difficult for her; she was very strong and sure on her feet and the ledge and windowsill were fairly wide.

The moment she slipped into the room and turned to close the window behind her, she heard a click and the sound of a door opening. She spun around, her guard up, ready for a fight. Then the light flipped on and–

“Diane?!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> still no selkies sorry

Diane relaxed at the sight of her little brother, standing in the doorway, his face a picture of confusion and relief. “Yeah, it's me, Sammy.”

“Diane! What the hell?” Sam's expression seemed to be rapidly oscillating back and forth between frustration, disbelief, and gratitude. He quickly closed the door behind him and rushed across the small single bedroom to wrap his long arms and large body around Diane's smaller frame. “I thought something happened to you, Di. You weren't answering any of my calls or texts or– I mean– I thought–“

A sharp pang of guilt pierced through Diane, and she wrapped her arms around Sam in comfort. That was exactly what she'd been worried about. “I'm so sorry, Sammy. I wanted to tell you what I was doing and where I was, but I was afraid. I thought Dad might've been able to track me with my phone so I, um, got rid of it. Sent it down South in someone else's luggage.”

Sam let out a small laugh at that, and then seemed to realize that he'd been hugging his sister for a bit long than she'd normally feel comfortable with and let go. Diane was grateful for it. She didn't really like large displays of emotion or weakness, they made her feel uncomfortable and strange. Sam would always laugh and call her “emotionally constipated”. She pretended it wasn't a problem, and that she was fine, but every once in a while she worried that it was a sign that she would turn out to be just like her dad. Maybe she'd internalized too many of his thoughts and beliefs in the process of taking the brunt of everything John would throw at her and Sam throughout their whole childhood and adolescence.

“I'm just, uh, glad you made it,” Sam finally managed to choke out.

“Me too,” Diane replied with a grin, and reached up to ruffle his brown hair. It'd grown out a bit since he'd left home and the tight control of his father's ideas about “what men should look and act like”. He'd grown taller, too, which Diane had honestly wouldn't have thought to be possible except for the fact that it seemed to be true.

Sam smiled back at her.“I don't have any more classes today,” he started, and Diane already knew what he was going to say before he said it, “so do you want me to show you around campus?”

“Sure, why not?” She said. “Just let me put my bag down. Oh, and, uh, do you think I could sleep here tonight? Just on your floor?”

“Well, it's not quite allowed, but I'm sure I can make an exception for you.”

“Thank you. Oh, god, thank you. So, campus tour?”

“Campus tour, right this way,” Sam said, making a grand flourishing movement with his whole body as he flung the door open again, almost smacking it into a person who was walking past in the hallway.

“Shit, watch yourself, man! You almost hit me!” The person yelled before stalking away.

Sam looked at Diane with a comically guilty expression, which only made Diane laugh and punch him in the arm, which made Sam, in turn, smile sheepishly.

The campus might not have been extremely exciting for a person who was used to living in a city, or maybe a person who was used to educational facilities at all, but Diane didn't fall into either of those categories. She had dropped out of high school at age 16 John's command, and dropped all of her dreams of ever going to college and studying marine life like she always wanted to do along with it.

That was one of the many reasons she swore to protect Sammy from the same fate. She took the beatings and the shouting and everything to protect him. She got a second job, a secret one, and encouraged him to do the same so they'd have a chance at being able to pay for his tuition. He graduated high school at the top of his class, just like she might have been if she'd been allowed to stay. He went off to college to study poli-sci, and soon enough (well maybe not too soon) he'd be a real lawyer. She couldn't be more proud.

It was all a bit ridiculous to her, the poor, dumb, landlocked farm girl, thinking that she had any chance of studying the ocean. Taking that informal tour on the Columbia campus made her feel like she still had a little bit of hope for herself. Just a little.

Some people waved or smiled to Sam as they walked passed. Some of them looked at Diane with curiosity, others ignored her all together. Everyone Sam talked to seemed nice, the campus was beautiful, the buildings were all huge, and everything seemed so  _ nice _ . She was so glad Sam could be in this great place, learning about things he's passionate about while surrounded by people who seem to care about him. It was practically the exact opposite of what life used to be like for him back in Kansas.

The two of them ended up sitting together on the grass in a small park, catching up. Diane didn't really have much to share; life back at home had been just the same as it'd always been since Sam had gone away. Nothing new to say, really, and Sam already knew that, so the conversation mostly consisted of Diane asking him questions and him giving answers and telling her stories of his new life here in the big city.

Right when Sam finished telling a story about his possibly mentally unstable neighbor, someone, a girl with wavy blonde hair came bounding up next to them. She was cute, Diane noted; she wore a jean jacket, a fluffy scarf and a beanie. Sam looked up at her and said, “Jess! Oh, it's so cool you came by. Sit down!”

Jess obliged, smiling. Diane's confusion only lasted for about a second before Jess leaned over and placed a kiss on Sam's cheek.

“Diane, this is my girlfriend, Jess,” Sam said.

“Girlfriend?” Diane half-whispered.

“And Jess, this is is Diane, my sister,” Sam finished, completing the formal introduction.

At this, Jess's eyes lighting up in recognition and understanding. “Oh my, gosh, you're Diane!” Jess cried, offering her hand out eagerly to shake, “Sam talks about you all the time, you know. You've got quite the reputation to live up to now.”

“Is that so?” Diane asked, smiling a little, perhaps a bit smugly, turning her gaze from Jess to Sam and then back again.

“Well it's great to meet you Diane,– I was honestly starting to think that this guy here had made you up– but I've gotta run. Catch you guys later, okay?” Jess said, standing up and brushing off the backs of her thighs. She placed a kiss on Sam's head and waved to Diane before throwing her satchel over her shoulder and hurrying away.

“Sam?” Diane said.

“Yeah?” Sam replied, vacantly, as he watched Jess walk away.

“Sam.” Diane tried again, frowning slightly.

“What, Di?” Sam asked, turning back around to face her.

“You didn't tell me you had a girlfriend!” Diane whisper-shouted at him. “We were talking about the damn buildings and the classes you're taking but you didn't think that maybe that would be a good thing to mention?”

“Well, I–”

“And she's damn cute too, isn't she?”

Sam blushed, but nodded.

“Yeah. Heck yeah,” Diane said, still trying to wrap her head around the whole situation. She was so happy for Sam, of course, for having such a sweet, cute, and friendly girlfriend, but there was still a part of her that still saw him as a bumbling and awkward little teenage nerd.

“I'm so happy for you, dude,” she said, punching him lightly on the shoulder. Sam smiled widely under her praise. “So. How'd you meet her? When did you start dating? Wait, you do take her on dates, right? And– hang on, exactly what kind of things have you been telling people about me?”

Sam laughed as the questions all flowed in, and started answering them one by one. They met through a mutual friend, they started dating around Christmas, yes, of course he takes her on dates, (and she takes me on dates too, it’s a very equal equation), and “Nothing except the truth, Di, don't worry, I haven't been spinning lies about my fantastical older sister back at home in Kansas.”

The joking tone with which he answered that last question eased her mind a bit, but the ideological way that Sam seemed to look up to her was cute when he was just a little kid who really was in need of protecting but now it seemed a little bit concerning. Diane forced herself to push the thought to the back of her head for the time being, however. She was determined to have a good time with Sam. It was the least she could give herself really.

As day began to turn into night, Sam suggested they go out to eat dinner at a restaurant near the campus. Diane said it was a bad idea, of course. She obviously didn't have the money, and Sam wasn't quite raking it in yet either. Anyways, his meal plan at the school was already bought and paid for, there was no reason she could think of that would be a good enough reason to waste that. She figured she could just hide out in his room while he went to the cafeteria and he could bring back some food for her.

Sam was having none of it. “It's a special occasion, Di,” he reasoned, “It'll totally be worth it. I know a really cheap place near here that still serves decent food. More than decent. I'd almost call it good. I've got a job here, you know. At a bookstore. It pays really well. And yes, I have lots of student debt, just like everyone else, but that debt pales in comparison the the lifetime's worth of debt I owe to you for helping me get this far, okay Di. So come on. Come to dinner with me.”

Diane rolled her eyes for most of his short speech, but let out a small snort of a laugh when he started laying on the praise.  _ Just one dinner out might be okay _ , she thought to herself, grudgingly, before adding,  _ Well that's what I get for trying to argue with a future lawyer, I guess _ . Sam grinned in victory.

The “restaurant” that Sam ended up taking them to was a small place called “The Roadhouse”. Diane wasn't really if it could really be considered a restaurant at all. It was more of a tiny, grungy, western-style bar. It felt very out of place in the city, but then again, so did Diane herself, so maybe it was a good thing Sam took here here and not to some swanky gourmet place where she would've only felt out of her depth and uncomfortable.

“Hey, Sam,” the brown haired middle aged woman who was wiping down the bar said as the two of them walked in the door, “Who's this you got with you?”

“Hey, Ellen,” Sam said in return, smiling. “This is my sister, Diane. She's, um, visiting from out west.”

“Oh, Diane, it's great to finally be able to meet you,” Ellen said, and put her hand out for Diane to shake. She had a slight southern drawl, rough hands, and was wearing a brownish greenish work coat, despite being inside. Diane wondered idly if she kept a revolver under the bar as well.

“Um, it's nice to meet you too,” Diane finally managed to choke out.

“Sit wherever you like, kids. I'll send Jo out to be your server in just a little bit, okay?” Ellen handed over two menus with a smile, and went back to wiping down the bar like she had been before she'd been interrupted.

Sam made his way over to the booth in the back corner and Diane followed close behind. The seats were brown and cracked with age, but weren't uncomfortable to sit in. The whole place had an atmosphere that seemed like it really shouldn't feel comfortable, but it somehow did anyways.

“You sure you haven't been telling people wild stories about me, Sammy? That's the second person I've met today and both of them have been strangely very interested in shaking hands and telling me just how great they expect me to be based on my little brothers stories.”

Diane was teasing, of course, but she was sort of concerned. It made sense for Sam to tell his girlfriend about her, but why the local bartender? It what context had Sam thought,  _ Oh wow it sure seems like a good idea to tell this random person about my sister back at home, still stuck under the tyrannical rule of our father. Isn't it cool that I escaped? _

“Don't worry, Di, Ellen's really great, you can trust her,”Sam insisted. He must have seen a flash of genuine emotion peeking through Diane's fake joking tone.

“I'm all good, Sammy, don't worry. Just don't want people to start saying you're a liar, that's all,” she reassured.

That only seemed to confuse Sam. “Why–? Why would people start calling me a liar?”

“Well,” Diane started to explain, as if it was obvious and Sam were just a small child, “If you've been telling all your buddies here in the big city all these tall tales about your life and your family back home, and then I come here and they actually meet me and talk to me and such, it seems pretty likely that I won't live up to their apparently really high expectations and they'll realize you haven't quite been telling the truth.”

“What? Diane, no, that's not–,” Sam begins, rushing to explain, but he's cut off by the arrival of a petite girl with blonde hair and a name tag that read 'Jo'. She was probably about Sam's age, or around there at least.

“Hey, Sam, who's this?” The girl asked.

“Aren't you supposed to be taking our orders, Jo?” Sam asked back, a question for a question, an evasion.

Jo pouts slightly, but acquiesces, “Alright, what would you like to drink then?”

Diane hadn't really had any time to look at her menu yet, but that turned out to not be a problem when Sam ordered a beer for each of them, and then plowed ahead and ordered their food for them as well, a salad for himself and a burger for Diane.

Jo made a show of jotting their orders down on a small pad of paper, but Diane was fairly sure that that was all theatrics, as if it was her way of saying “See, look, I'm waitressing, SAM”. Then she clicked her pen and winked at Diane before sashaying her way back into the kitchens.

“Did she just–?” Diane started, but cut herself off in disbelief.

“Wink at you?” Sam finished her thought with a wry smile. “Yes I do believe she just did.”

“But she's– And I'm– I mean–”

“Some things are different here than they are back at home Di. Please try to keep an open mind, okay?”

“Are you calling me a bigot, Sam?” Diane accused, confusion turning into anger. “I'm nothing like Dad, okay? I'm just also not... not...”

“Gay?” Sam prompted, looking into Diane's eyes in a way that was a bit to open and genuine than she was totally comfortable with.

“Yeah, that,” she replied, looking away from him, her gaze settling on the floor.

“If it really makes you upset I'll ask her to stop, Di,” Sam offered.

“No its. Fine. It's fine,” Diane said. But inside, she wasn't so sure. She knew it was okay for a woman to like another woman, she wasn't going to hold that against Jo. But it was always something that she'd thought of as an 'other people problem'. Yes, some people were gay, but not her. She liked boys. Not people like Jo, with their curves and perky smiles and– No. That was a dangerous train of thought.

Diane forced herself to grind that whole train of thought to a halt for the time being, and fell back into easy conversation with Sam. Jo brought their drinks, and soon afterwards, their plates of food. Every time Jo came by, flirting and joking, Diane got quiet again. Sam eventually introduced her to Jo as his sister, but that didn't seem to deter the flirting at all. If anything, it seemed to make it get worse.

At one point Ellen had shouted from the bar, “For God's sake Joanna, stop harassing her, would you?” Which got her to back off slightly, but only slightly.

Sam was right about the food. It wasn't bad. Diane was fairly sure that by gourmet fancy city person standards it might be bad, but Diane supposed she could take being uncultured in that regard if it meant she didn't have to take out a loan just to buy one dinner.

Sam decided that they should skip desert because “Diane, you're about to fall asleep sitting up, and I'm sure as hell not going to carry you back to the dorms.”

Diane had protested as best she could, but inside she knew that he was right. She was tired. She was so very tired that she could probably sleep here on the slightly dingy floor of the Roadhouse. Eventually Diane caved to Sam's insisting tones and let him pay and start dragging her out of the restaurant.

Before they could get too far, Jo came running out of the door after them, carrying a take away box. “Here,” she said, offering the box for Diane to take out of her hand, “It's a piece of pie, on me. As a 'welcome to the city' gift.”

“Oh. Thanks,” Diane replied as she took the box offered to her.

Jo blushed at her words, and then quickly turned on her heels and strode back inside.

“Well, that was very nice of her,” Sam said, bemused, breaking the somewhat shocked silence that Jo had left in her wake.

“Yeah,” Diane replied.

“You can eat it for breakfast tomorrow morning,” Sam said, seeming like he was just saying his thoughts out loud.

Sam put one arm around her and let her lean on him as they walked back to his dorm together. Normally she would never let Sam get away with such a sentimental seeming gesture, but she was just tired enough that she didn't really care.

Diane knew she wasn't really allowed to stay in Sam's dorm, but the two of them figured that there was no point at all of her wasting money on a motel when she could just sleep on his floor. Sleepily, she took a shower and got changed before settling down on Sam's rug. It wasn't the most comfortable place she'd ever slept, but she was far past caring about that.

“G'night, Sammy,” she mumbled, and fell asleep immediately.

**Author's Note:**

> Since this a strange time capsule of a piece for me, I'd really like as much feedback (positive or negative) as I can get so please please leave a comment. You don't even need to have an account, just put in an email address! Thank you!


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